Windows 8 is the hot topic in current world of Operating Systems, this new OS from Microsoft expected to release in 2012. This OS would be totally different from normal desktop Operating Systems as per the news and rumors available on internet currently. I got the chance to install this latest OS from Microsoft on desktop virtualization software and see the new changes. This simple guide shows how to install Windows 8 in VirtualBox and play around with it. (with the original release from Microsoft)
UPDATE – This guide has been updated on 16-09-2011.
Microsoft released the first distribution as developer preview recently. Most of the users confirmed that the steps in this guide worked well with official release also.
Step by Step Method to Install Windows 8 in VirtualBox
Before start the steps, understand the basic requirement for this installation. You must have a Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT) computer. I tried this on Dell Optiplex 755 computer which doesn’t have VT supported processor, the installation started and copied all files, but with the first restart virtual machine hung with black screen in some white texts. I have changed all possible settings in Virtual machine and tried, but no luck.
1) Make sure your computer support Hardware Virtualization Technology – Read more information about Virtualization Technology.
2) Download the correct distribution for your computer processor (32 bit or 64bit), you can download it from official site here.
3) Create a new virtual machine. Select ‘Windows 7’ as OS version.
4) Enable VT-x and Nesting Paging options as shown below.
Enable PAE/NX under processor settings. You can change the processor numbers according to physical processor cores, (I set to 2, because mine is Intel Core2duo)
Enable IO APIC under motherboard settings of virtual machine.
5) Enable 3D Acceleration, you can enable 2D Acceleration also. Maximize the display memory size. In fact, I’m not sure how these settings will be helpful to improve the display performance…keep reading.
6) Mount the downloaded ISO file and start the virtual machine. Installation should start normally like Windows 7.
7) Run and configure the first personalization steps. You must land on the new version of desktop environment metro UI if everything is correct.
As per Microsoft’s requirements, screen resolution should be higher than 1024×768 to get proper working tiles in metro UI.
Here is the solution to fix this issue and get better performance, lets install VirtualBox guest additions.
Install VirtualBox guest additions on Windows 8 Virtual machine
8.) Mount the guest additions built in ISO file by going to ‘Devices’ in menu and click ‘ Install Guest Additions’. After ISO mounted to virtual machine’s DVD/CD drive, explore the drive.
Right click on Windows guest additions for 32bit or 64bit (depends on the installed version) file and under Compatibility change the mode to Windows 7.
After pressing Apply, run the installation and restart Virtual machine. Now automatically the screen resolution will be changed to higher and you could see the difference in performance. Now check the tiles in metro UI, it must work.
Issues I Faced and How I Fixed
Let me tell the truth, the above steps did not work on my Intel core2duo processor. But, I managed to install successfully by trying several combinations.
If the above steps did not work for you, then you can try the below steps. When I tried the above steps above steps, I got the following error. This is the new interface for famous Windows blue screen error.
Here are the settings helped me in my host.
9) Change the motherboard main chipset to ICH9.
10) By default when disk created for virtual machine, it will be mounted in SATA controller. But, manually you have to mount the virtual hard disk to IDE controller.
I’m sure above steps will be helpful to fix some booting and crashing issues in Windows 8 with Oracle VirtualBox.
Network and sound works fine inside virtual machine. It’s a nice experience to work with the latest OS in virtualization environment without disturbing your existing physical Operating Systems.
I have already written a guide on install Windows 8 in VMware workstation 8 which works better than VirtualBox (in my computer).
Let me know how the above installation went in your computer and how is the performance.
i downloaded the file and the installation wizard told me the system is windows server 2008 r2 ……..
Hi Hermes,
that is normal it will say windows server 2008 R2
because it is still based on that and windows 7 so they haven’t change the installer yet.
the installer will change over the time.
for a small glimp of the new installer go to windows\system32\msoobe.exe and run it
Wesley
HOW DID YOU GET AERO ON WINDOWS 8 PLEASE TELL ME!
Hi Metthew,
you will get aero automatically in virtual box if your graphics card can handle aero. and you need enough ram too. try the windows aero troubleshooter to look what you problem is.
Wesley
Thanks!
Will it have the Windows Phone Screen, too?
sorry, but i will not have the windows phone screen.
because it misses an .dll file for that.
hackers are trying to unlock that.
what i think the best thing to do is download windows 8 build 7989 (just google it for a torrent)
it haves te new aero too. you can unlock the new things of windows 8 by using red pill enabeler or bleu possion (from windows 8 italia).
i prefer red pill
Hi Dinesh,
i am also trying windows 8 out from build 7850
.
i wanted to install build 7995 on vmware a while ago but i get the “black screen of death” with an error code on it.
i tried it also on virtual pc 2010 and it also get’s the “black screen of death” with the same error.
at last i treid to install it on virtualbox and suprisely it worked. i unlocked the hidden feutures of windows 8 now. 9using red pill) it is perfect
Bye,
Wesley
My acceleration tab in virtual box settings is greyed. can’t click on it. What do i do?
What type of processor you have? I think VT is not enabled on it.
I have the same problem I have a core 2 duo processor
the torrent source is redirecting and saying 404. pls. fix.
@Sriram, Thanks a lot.
It was fixed now and linking to official Microsoft site.
I got installs thanks, but no matter what i do none of the metro tiles work?
just Explorer/desktop/control panel./task manager work
anyone w/ insights?
cant get any tiles to work but the generic system ones, anyone w/ insights?
same problem here, any ideas?
same here, and I have no clue
How do you mean “none of the metro tiles work?”
I had something where tiles like “weather” did nothing,
but after a while, and a few shutdowns, they worked.
As an aside… the game “5″ or whatever it is called is very challenging.
The tiles work fine for me. Host is my iMac
I get an error when installing in VirtualBox:
Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code 0x8007045D
Any ideas?
Same problem here. Already testet some different configurations but did not had success. Does anybody know what to do?
Me too. Does anyone know the solution?
See my possible solution below
me too, I’ve checked the iso file’s sha1 code and it is correct.
hope somebody could find solution.
Just try to reinstall again, also please ensure that you are installing on an IDE hard drive
mine is stuck at “Expanding files 98%…” then it gives error :- Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code 0x8007045D
Please let me know what to do. Virtualization is enabled in BIOS, I have quad core i7 processore, DELL XPS 15 L502x pc
See my possible solution below – my pc was a DELL L502X also
Thanks a lot Nick. I will try in evening and then update you.
Thank you so much !! Enabling “Use host I/O” for SATA drive fixed the issue. Win8 is working smoothly. Only issue is its not taking advantage of my 1080p laptop resolution. Im fine with that.
I had this problem and managed eventually to find a fix. May not fix yours but have a go anyway.
After creating your Virtual Disk and after creating all the settings above,
Go to Settings – Storage – Sata Controller
Ensure that the “Use host I/O” is selected for the SATA drive.
That’s it after doing that I could install Windows 8, before it used to hang with “Expand files – 98%” and then give the 0x8007045D error.
Hope this helps. Nick
Hi NickBristow…
Thanks for your help. It’s working now, and before i was going to crazy…
I get the blinking of death:
“Computer needs to be restarted
Code: 0x0000000A
Para
0xFFFFFFE6
0x0000001F
0×00000000
0x81B4663B”
I initially get the splash “Windows Developer Preview” trying to install mounted WindowsDeveloperPreview-32bit-English.iso — Then it flickers with the above
Exactly same problem here, except a little bit difference with the last para value
I’m using VirtualBox 3.x. Trying to upgrade to a latest version
Im experiencing the same situation. Im working hard at trying to find a solution.
…the same, using VirtualBox 4.1.2
I am trying with 3.2.8_OSE r64453
Same issue here, same version of VirtualBox.
Guys try to enable virtulization in your BIOS, It worked for me. Here is the link how to do it:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx
I’ve fixed the problem!!! you have to enter the BIOS Setup and enable the option of Virtualitzation on the CMOS Features
I can’t find “Virtualization” in my bios
i can’t find the bios of virtualbox,help me!!
Not in the BIOS of virtualbox, it’s in the BIOS of your PC
Visualization is enabled, still i m getting this error
Here is solution
http://superuser.com/questions/336378/how-to-solve-the-error-code-0x0000000a-while-installing-windows-8-developer-pr
The fix for the tiles not working for me a colleague discovered, in increasing the display resolution from within your VM session higher than the default for our VMs and then the tiles worked.
You can install the guest additions, just view the ‘disk’ in explorer, and right click the .exe and choose ‘run in compatibility mode’ as ‘windows 7′. The installer runs OK, installs OK, reboots OK. I’m using 2011 MacBook Pro / 10.6.8 running virtualbox 4.1.2.
Guest additions DOES WORK
Thanks AAAA for the tip
Hey,
after instalation win 8 – 32 bit on VirtualBox everything is almost fine. But after intialing devices and restart where is a grren screen with my user name i get black screen with cursor and it’s the end of working… what should I do with it?
Please help
AMD Athlon II 5200
2gb ram
Radeon 4890
Samsung spin point 3 1 Tb
Hello,
I am a laptop with processor 64 bits.
On this laptop, I use Windows 7 32 bits.
Is this possible to install Windows 8 64 bits via VirtualBox on this configuration?
Which version of VirtualBox have I to download?
Thanks.
Win8Fan
Thanks for the guide,
For the virtualization in optiplex 755 – just upgrade your bios to the latest version through Dell support site & u’ll have the feature in bios.
works great.
Hello There.
You can install VirtualBox guest additions in “Windows 7″ compatible mode. It’s work perfectly here.
I have compatibility mode set to Windows 7, but it still is telling my it’s not compatible.
im also using virtual box 4.1.2 on Win7 64 bit ultimate, mine Win8 developer preview is stuck at “Expanding files 98%…” then it gives error :- Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code 0x8007045D
Please let me know what to do. Virtualization is enabled in BIOS, I have quad core i7 processore, DELL XPS 15 L502x pc
Hello Friends,
This guide is updated with some fixes. It may be helpful for you.
Also, I can see some useful comments from other users with great inputs. Please check them too.
VirtualBox Guest Additions doesn’t work for me.
I’ve tried without compatibility mode and with compatibility mode set to “Windows 7″ / “Windows XP”.
The setup always aborts with the following error:
ERROR (e000022d): Unknown error!
ERROR: Could not install files for Windows 2000 / XP / Vista! Installation aborted.
same problem here
+1, but it only happens on the 32 bits version for me.
Same here. I am able to get Win8 32-bit installed and working under Win7 64-bit with VirtualBox 4.1.2. I try installing Guest Additions and it gives the same “ERROR: Could not install files for Windows 2000 / XP / Vista! Installation aborted.”
I tried running both the VBoxWindowsAdditions and VBoxWindowsAdditions-x86 installers normally, and under Win7 compatibility mode. Same error in all scenarios.
+1, I also meet this problem
UPDATE:
I had that issue with Win8 x86 running in VB 4.1.2 on Win7 x64 as host. Then I blew away the Win8 VM and created a new one with the Win8 x64 (no dev tools) version. It worked. So the trick for running the installer under Win7 seems to only work under Win8 x64 for my environment.
Thanks for your post. It is working for me on Virtual Box now.
When I initially tried to install Win8 under VirtualBox, it kept rebooting my host PC about 5-10 seconds into the guest PC boot.
The vbox.log file had these last 3 lines:
00:00:16.239 Not in text mode!
00:00:16.239 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
00:00:17.271 Changing the VM state from ‘RUNNING’ to ‘GURU_MEDITATION’.
I eventually found that if I disabled all monitors except one on my host PC, I could boot Win8 in VirtualBox.
Hope this helps someone.
Actually it is enough to set the correct number of monitors in the VM settings.
Hello,
I can install the Guest Additions in Compatibility Mode, but I can’t install D3D Support. It also doesn’t start at all, I can’t even start it manually. I use VirtualBox 4.1.2 and I have the 64-bit version of Windows 8.
Please help
Btw, if I change the chipset and storage controller, I get the bluescreen “INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE”.
i’m getting error saying
Please restart your computer
hold the power button and some code
what should i do
help me please
I keep getting this same very error.
I have enabled virtualization via BIOS but still get the same exact error you have too.
the sad face bluescreen really speaks volumes for win8.
do not want.
I’ve installed, but can’t seem to get my network adaptor to work. I have a Dell Latitude E6410. Any help would be appreciated as to the settings.
I installed the Guest Additions by using CMD and typing ‘cd /d d:\’ (drive d being the drive that the VirutalBox Guest Additions cd) and once I am log into directory d, typing ‘VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd-64.exe /force’. I am running on a AMD x64 processor. So run the .exe that is meant for your processor.
JFYI: Meanwhile VBox 4.1.4 is out with support for Win8 32bit and 64bit. I just installed Win8 build 8102 in my VBox. Guest additions were already installed an work from the beginning. So mouse pointer integration is now available.
I’m trying to install the guest additions but the option “devices – install guest additions” is not there.
My computer is a MacBook pro with lion installed. I have virtualbox version 4.1.6 r74713. In fact I don’t even have a ‘devices’ menu. I have one called ‘machine’, but none of the menu options say “install guest additions”.
Does anybody know how to do this from a MAC?
I do not have a network connection on it… how do i get the virtual box internet to work?
and i have no audio
Hello all, I got it to work fine with out much issues.
VirtualBox 4.1.6
Host: Windows 2003 32-bit
Did notice that the install would BSOD right in the beginning if the ISO was mounted on a SATA connection, worked fine on IDE. PCIX3 / ICH9 chipset worked fine, also PIIX4 / ICH6 controller worked fine. No audio testing done.
Still working on getting guest additions installed.
Every time I install the virtual box program, I cannot run my windows on normal mode anymore. I should go to safe mode first and gladly there’s an option to system restore it to previous save point.